


182 Days

by Lexitennant2



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-18 13:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16119578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexitennant2/pseuds/Lexitennant2
Summary: Tony Stark hasn't had the best upbringing, that's for sure, but he's made a life for himself and put everything behind him. That is until his past appears out of nowhere at his job and sends his already chaotic life into a messy whirlwind of surprise pregnancies, weddings, and a man who may stand in the way of Tony being with the love of his life.





	1. Four of Us

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read any of my other work then you know I do not have the best track record with finishing my stories and my updating is sporadic. I apologize in advance as I've now entered the college stage of my life and everything is going to be even more hectic. So enjoy :)

** August 24, 2018 (182 days til the wedding) **

 

“Look, I don’t think you’re getting the full picture….no I explicitly said….you did _what_ with the forms?”

 Pepper looked up from the latte she was enjoying and watched as Tony paced the small space that could be considered a living room. She took a delicate sip and sighed as Tony made too sharp a turn and smacked his hip on the table that was by the door that held a small bowl for keys and a stack of papers.

 “For the love of god!...no not you…they’re expecting the orders in a week, I expect everything to be fixed.” Tony snapped before jabbing the end button on his phone harshly.

 “I don’t get it, I really don’t.” He stalked over to Pepper and slumped heavily onto the small kitchen island she was sitting at. 

“My guys are smart, I mean I hired them of course they are, but this is ridiculous. You would think I was asking them to build a time machine.” Tony grumbled, playing with the end of his tie as he looked at Pepper expectantly.

 “Don’t look at me.” Pepper said with a wry smile. “You’re the one who wanted to get more hands-on again.”

 “Maybe this is why they’re so many problems getting this order done, I haven’t been there enough and it’s all falling apart.”

 Pepper raised one finely threaded eyebrow and took another sip of her latte. “Did you just insult my work ethic and claim to be better at this than I am in the same sentence?”

 Tony blinked owlishly. “What? No nothing like that, I swear Pepper. I’m just saying words, hey speaking of words, I’m just gonna stop talking.” He mimed zipping his lips and Pepper gave a little huff.

“Listen, the only reason the order is so chaotic is because the clients have changed the color scheme about 5 times now, something you would know if you’d read the entire file before deciding to take over this project.”

 Tony rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. He and Pepper were both co-owners of an event planning shop.They’d started in college and it’d been growing steadily ever since. Over the past 20 years they'd opened 7 shops and business was booming. They'd hired more people and in turn had a lot more responsibilities. Pepper took care of the clients usually, and was the onewho dealt with the overall planning. Tony had only wanted to make Pepper happy in the beginning, and piss off his dad, but he'd started to grow on the idea of being an event organizer. Hewas the one who stuck mostly to the paperwork and more technological aspects of their company. He hadn't  been invested full time at the event shop, but that had changed about 12 yearsago. He’d let Bethany Cabe, a close friend who understood the company almost as well as he did, run as the CEO. He still owned the company but he only appeared for the press and over sea meetings and deals.

 “I’m going to make another call to Ron, make sure you didn’t scare him too much, and then go pick up some pizza from that place Rhodey kept talking about.” Pepper said before finishing her latte and sliding off the stool.

“I don’t see why you won’t let go of this place.” She carefully threw her cup into the trash and headed towards the door.

“Nostalgia I guess.” Tony said softly, leaning into Pepper when she placed a hand on his arm and kissed his cheek.

She gave a shake of her head and unlocked the door, heading out with a wave good-bye.  
Tony closed the door shut, his hands flying up to loosen the tie around his neck. He spotted the paper lying on the coffee table and he picked it up to read, flopping onto the grey cloth

couch next to it.

Tony had been renting this apartment since he was 19 and his father had kicked him out of the house. Sure Tony had his Malibu home and a beautiful penthouse 14 miles away, but he liked being able to come home and have simplicity and comfort that reminded him of the old days. The days before the little shop became world wide known. The days before his parents had died and he’d been left the company. 

He read the paper for a short bit before pulling out his phone, scrolling through his e-mails until he got to the one Pepper had forwarded to him about the current client. He skim-read, and began to understand what Pepper was talking about.

 Mr.& Mrs. Billwood had requested all the materials be shipped to them and that they didn’t need any of the services provided besides the delivery.That seemed weird to Tony,seeing as their catering was for 50+ people, but if they didn't want the waiters, helpers to set up, or anyone else than Tony wouldn't push. He finally got to the issue and rolled his eyes. The couple had kept changing the color scheme of the tableware. First they'd wanted red and white for the tablecloths, napkins, cups, plates, and cutlery. Then they'd switched to yellow and white, then blue and white, and then red and white again. They seemed to have finally settled on green and white and Tony hoped they didn't switch again.

 Tony began feeling bad for snapping at Ron earlier. He hated customers like this. Switching the order constantly meant the employees would have to fill out new order forms each time and then just throw them away, wasting them because the clients couldn’t make up their minds the first time they ordered it. At least it looked like the couple kept changing the colors before an actual order could make it all the way through to being processed and then shipped out of the warehouse.

Tony shut his phone off with a huff and rubbed his temples. Back then it had been so simple, just a little shop that had nothing to do with warehouses and spoiled rich customers.

He adjusted himself on the couch so he was laying with his head on the arm. He must have dozed off because when he woke up Pepper was back, setting the pizza down on the coffee table. Rhodey was beside her, opening up a beer and laughing at something Pepper had said.

Tony blinked to try and get the blurriness out of his vision when he felt fingers running through his hair.

“Morning sleeping beauty.” Carol gazed down at him with a wide grin. “Wasn't sure you'd ever wake up.”

He sluggishly swiped at her hand til she removed it from his head and sat up slowly. She immediately sat down next to him and reached for a slice of pizza, ignoring Pepper’s protests about waiting for a plate.

“Pepper was just telling us about the Billwoods.” Rhodey said bringing a stool from the kitchen over to the table.

“I was reading the file you sent me before I fell asleep.” Tony said to Pepper, snatching a piece of pizza for himself. Pepper shot him a dirty look and thrusted a plate at him before sitting down on his other side.

“I'm shocked you’re still sticking with this.” Rhodey continued.

Tony placed a hand on his chest and gave his best friend his best betrayed look.

“Rhodey-bear, sweet drops, love of my life, how could you say that.”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. “Usually when you have to deal with these types of clients you back out.”

“Well I've always done better behind the scenes, not dealing with them one on one.”

“That's bullshit and you know it. You're the face of the company, plus you charm the pants out of everyone you know.”

“Awww thanks sugar bear.”

Rhodey made a gagging noise and Carol made a face. “Not in front of my pizza please.” She said before taking a huge bite.

Tony smiled fondly at her before biting into his own pizza, enjoying the somewhat tangy sauce and stretchy cheese.

In the beginning it'd been just Pepper, Rhodey, and him. Pepper had been his cousin -Sharon’s- highschool friend. They'd been introduced to each other at Sharon’s 16th birthday party and they'd clicked. Rhodey and Tony had also instantly clicked. They were roommates at MIT the first year and had moved into the apartment together for the following years. They had a ton in common and Rhodey watched over Tony like a big brother so the three had all gotten along rather quickly.Carol had known Rhodey first, both having been pilot’s in the U.S Navy. That’d been 5 years ago. Rhodey had been discharged after his plane had crashed and he’s lost the use of his legs. Months and months of therapy had helped the colonel enough so he just had a slight limp. Carol had resigned shortly after, but sometimes returned to base to help train other pilots.

Tony and Carol hadn't clicked immediately, mostly because Tony was a bit jealous about Carol being so close with Rhodey, but he'd finally came around to her, and he accepted her as one of his own. Especially when he heard from Rhodey that her codename was cheeseburger.

“We actually have a client that wants to see us.”Pepper said. “I already e-mailed you everything and you better read everything so you don't embarrass us.”

“When did they want to meet?” Tony asked, ignoring the latter part of what Pepper had said.

“Monday at 2:00.”

“That gives us 3 days, did they say anything in advance as to what they wanted?”

“Read the file, that's what it's there for.”

Tony stuck his tongue out at Pepper and got an eye roll back in response.

“How bought less work talk and more fun talk.” Carol suggested, reaching for a second slice of pizza.

“Oh perfect, Carol why don't you tell us how that date went yesterday night.” Pepper said.

Carol’s face became red, as did Rhodey’s.

“A date?” Rhodey squeaked out.

Tony looked at his friends in confusion.

“What's so weird about that?” Tony said raising an eyebrow. “You went on a date yourself last night too.”

“I never said it was a date!”, “Tony would you shut the hell up.” Carol and Rhodey said at the same time.

Realization dawned on him and Pepper, making his confused expression turn into a full on smirk.

Now _this_ was going to be a fun talk.


	2. Salt and Pepper

**August 25, 2018 (181 days til the wedding)**

 

_ Salt and Pepper  _ was quite a small shop, considering how much business it had.  _ Maybe this location was just  smaller than the others? Maybe it was the original, she knew for a fact the company had started out rather small. _

Wanda mused the thoughts over in her head as she walked into the shop, the bell above the door announcing her presence.

It was cooler inside and she was thankful. It was late August but the heat waves kept coming. She’d at least dressed properly for the weather, a green sun dress with white sandals and a big, floppy, straw hat.

Wanda walked straight over to a long counter and began flipping through a magazine that showed samples of what the shop had to offer.

Someone clearing their throat brought her attention away from a picture of floral arrangements. She looked up to see a red haired woman looking at her from behind the counter.

“Hi, can I help you with something?” The woman asked,smiling politely.

Wanda fidgeted with the pages of the magazine and focused on breathing, she wasn't that good with people and she wondered again why she didn't have Darcy or Jane come with. Better yet, Natasha. Natasha always knew how to act.

“I was wondering if you did weddings?” She finally managed to ask. _ Oh god how stupid was she? This was an event planning place, of course they did weddings _ .

The woman just gave Wanda a reassuring look and nodded. “We sure do. I'm assuming you would be the bride?”

Wanda nodded her head enthusiastically, almost losing her hat in the process. She quickly took it off to avoid it falling off and embarrassing her at some point.

“Have you any ideas as to what you want? Themes for the wedding, food, music?” The woman asked,turning to the computer on the counter.

Wanda winced. “Actually no…”

The woman once again gave her a reassuring smile.

“Do you have the date set?”

Wanda was happy that this was a question she could answer. “February 22nd.”

“Alright that's a good date. Why don't you leave me your contact information.” The woman slid over a pen and notepad. “And I'll give you my card and some magazines you can look through to get you thinking about what you want.”

Wanda nodded and wrote down her name and number. Her handwriting a little wobbly from her nerves. She slid it back, just as the woman gave her a business card and a pink bag filled with magazines.

“Just call me when you’re ready and we can set up an appointment.”

Wanda smiled at the lady and said her goodbyes and left the shop. Once she was in her car, she put the bag on the floor on the front  passenger side and looked at the card. It was creamy white with silver edging. It was also thick and stiff, not cheap. In bold black letters it said the name of the shop, the address, e-mail, and a telephone number. She flipped it over to the back, which had two names, Pepper Potts and Tony Stark, and their contact information.

_ Huh, that explains the Pepper part of the name. _

She quickly put the card into her purse and started the car, getting nervous all over again.

She hadn’t expected to be engaged so soon. She was absolutely thrilled about it but this marriage came with complications. First, most of her family either didn't want to speak with her or they weren't in the country. That had never really bothered her as much until now. She already knew she'd be embarrassed by the lack of family members at the wedding. Then there was the issue of money. She wasn't that well off and she felt terrible that her fiance would be paying for most of the wedding. The final complication was their age difference. She knew many people at the wedding would be judging the 9 year gap between them, which wasn’t really that big but was big enough to have Loki’s aunt referring to her as a Lolita. Which made Wanda decide no way in hell was that old bat coming to the wedding.

As she was driving home she thought some more about what she should do for the planning. She’d only visited one other event planner and the woman had been stuck up and prissy. The woman had been especially insulted when Wanda had admitted she had no clue as to anything she wanted for her wedding. She'd never been that type of girl, all caught up with veils and whether the dress should be ballgown or a line.

This woman-Pepper- had been extremely kind to Wanda, and Wanda really didn't want to go check out  another event place.

She pulled into her driveway, the familiar sound of gravel under her tires a small comfort. She cut the engine and grabbed the bag, eager to look over its contents.

When she walked into her home, she was surprised to see her fiance at the stove, watching a pot of water.

Wanda shook off her surprise and smiled at him when he’d turned his attention to her.

“Isn't the saying, a watched pot never boils?” Wanda teased, setting the pink bag and her purse on the kitchen table.

Loki rolled his eyes and walked over to give Wanda a kiss. Wanda returned the kiss with vigor, her hands wildly running up and down Loki’s tall frame.

They pulled away, slightly breathless, with Loki giving her a final kiss on the cheek before returning to the stove.

“So how'd the searching go? Sorry I couldn't come with.”

Wanda shrugged and began pulling out magazines.

“I think I found a place but I want you to come check it out with me.” Wanda said, sitting down onto one of the wooden chairs so she could begin looking through them.

“What’s it called?”

“Salt and Pepper, it's that shop we saw on the news last week.”

“Oh right.”

Loki glared harder at the pot before huffing and turning his back to it. “I think I know that place from somewhere else though. I swear it's the one Jane was raving about...what….like last month?”

“Raving good or raving bad?”

“Raving good, she..”,Loki turned to the pot and made a triumphant noise when he saw it was boiling, before continuing, “..talked about how the quality is good with fair pricing, and how kind the people there are, especially this one guy who finalized everything for the event. Apparently they dated for 2 years back in 2007, Thor of course got jealous.”

Wanda absorbed the information and reached into her purse to get the business card out.

“I think I'll call tomorrow morning then.”

Loki smiled at her and walked over to the fridge to pull out butter and coriander.

“Why are you home so early?” Wanda asked, changing the subject.

Loki worked at a law firm across town as a paralegal, meaning he usually came home closer to 8 or 9pm.

“The boss let some of us go home early, due to its been rather dry recently. I can't imagine as to why though.”

Loki opened a package of pasta that was on the counter next to him and let the noodles slide into the pot.

“And you finished the Browner case right?”

“Almost, I've finished all the paperwork for the defense but I still have to turn it in.”

Wanda nodded and focused her attention back to the magazines. A gorgeous picture of a bridal bouquet looked up at her.

“Your mother liked Purple Heather, right?”

“She liked Orchids and Lilies as well, but Purple Heather was her favorite. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” Wanda replied, an image of her bouquet starting to form in her mind.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is always appreciated :)


	3. Marigolds and Poppies

**August 26, 2018 ( 180 days til the wedding)**

 

Natasha took her time folding up the clothes from the dryer, enjoying the peace and quiet that settled over the house for once.

After methodically folding the clothes for another 10 minutes, she placed them in a basket and carried it upstairs, careful not to step on Margarita, the black Pomeranian that she and Clint had adopted and when they’d first moved into the new house, 3 years ago.

The little dog ran around her ankles and zoomed over the water bowl. Natasha smiled at the sounds of Margarita’s tongue hitting the water and set the laundry basket in the hallway. She was already beginning to feel tired. All she wanted to do was finish reading her book and then take a nap. Bringing the laundry upstairs could wait until she needed to go to her bedroom.

She headed over to the couch and curled up in the left corner, the place that allowed her a vantage point of the entire room. She grabbed the book that was resting on the back of the couch and flipped it open to where she’d left off.

The sound of a key jiggling in the doorknob of the front door made Natasha look up from her book.

Margarita ran to the door just as it opened. She began jumping on Clint and  Phil as they walked in carrying groceries.

“You’re still reading that book?” Clint asked surprised, looking at the cover of “The Master and Margarita” and then Natasha’s face. “You’ve had that book for a week now.”

Natasha curled around the book a little defensively. “I’ve been quite busy.” She motioned to the laundry basket, and when the men turned to look at what she’d been pointing at she closed the book and slid it under the couch.

Phil turned to give her a stern look. “How busy?”

Natasha resisted the urge to roll her eyes and stood up. “I’m not some delicate little flower. I’m not going to keel over because I did some laundry today.” She ignored the fact that she had felt a sharp pang from doing said laundry. The wound on her waist was basically healed by now but it wasn't easy to get over being stabbed. “And the other days it was just paperwork I’ve been tied up with, paperwork _you_ gave me Phil.”

Phil’s stern look increased and he headed off to the kitchen. Natasha just bent down slightly and picked up Margarita to give her a kiss on the snout, resulting in multiple dog kisses to her face.

“You know he’s just worried.” Clint offered her a candy bar from the bag he had and she adjusted her hold on Phil to grab it. “The robot is beginning to show emotion.” He said excitedly and followed Clint into the kitchen.

Natasha set the dog down and was about to open her candy bar when she heard her phone ringing. She set her candy bar down on the coffee table and reached into her back jeans pocket and pulled out her phone, surprised to see a close-up of Loki’s face staring at her. She hit the green answer button and put the phone to her ear.

“You have got to help me.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow at her friends breathless tone.

“Wanda is in panic mode, I think I overwhelmed her with ideas about what to talk about with the wedding planner tomorrow.”

“You guys found a wedding planner?” Natasha asked, gently nudging Margarita’s paws off the table where they were trying to get to her candy bar.

“Yeah, Wanda came home yesterday super excited about a place called Salt and Pepper, Jane’s used it before and I have complete faith in Jane’s taste.”

Clint walked into the room and sat down on the lazy-boy, turning on the tv and flipping through the stations til he landed on the news which was capturing part of a triathlon. Natasha motioned for him to turn down the volume before returning her attention to Loki.

“So today I decided to help her go over some key points to go over with the wedding planner, so when she calls today to make an appointment she has a general idea of what to talk to the lady about. And I’m sure the lady will help Wanda- it is her job- but I wanted Wanda to go in knowing as much as possible and I pushed and now she’s locked herself in our room and is crying and I don’t know what to do.” Loki finished.

“I can be over in 10 minutes.” Natasha said, grabbing her candy bar and tossing it to Clint who began unwrapping it for her.

“Oh thank the heavens.” Loki muttered.

Natasha hung up and grabbed the candy bar back from Clint, taking a large bite.

“I have to deal with a little Wanda emergency, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, so maybe you and Phil can get dinner started?”

Clint grunted as Natasha grabbed her purse and keys. She waited expectantly until Clint finally looked up her. He turned the tv off and made a show of sliding out of his chair and sliding to the floor, slowly crawling to the kitchen.

Natasha huffed in amusement and left the house, worried about what she would find at the Laufeyson-Maximoff residence.

When Natasha pulled into the driveway she was met with Loki sitting on the porch with his head in his hands.

She got out of her car and walked over to him, the heels of her boots making a clicking sound on the pavement, alerting him of her presence.

“I made it worse.” He moaned. Natasha sat down beside him and gave him a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder.

“She’s talking in Romani.” Loki sighed and gestured to the open wooden door behind the screen door. “Please go inside and fix this.” He pleaded.

Natasha gave him a nod and stood up, walking the short distance to open the door and step inside.

Loki and Wanda had bought the house 5 years before Loki had proposed. It was a medium sized, 2 story house with genuine oak floors, and a large basement. They’d so far added a wrap around porch, a porch swing, and an in the ground pool in the backyard.

Wanda had surprised Loki with the porch swing for their 3rd year anniversary, after hearing from Thor about a porch swing the Odinson family had when they were younger, she’d decided to surprise her then just boyfriend with it after he’d been visiting his parents for the weekend.

Natasha walked down the long hallway to a set of stairs, she advanced them two at a time, passing by the photos hanging on the walls. She paused at a picture of the entire gang when they’d gone to a gala thrown by the police chief of Thor’s unit 6 years before. It’d been a few months into Loki and Wanda dating and you could see clearly the love they had for each other. They were sitting at a large round table, their chairs close together so Loki had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and Wanda was leaning into his side, a wide smile on her face. Darcy was to Wanda’s left, smiling over her glass of wine. Jane was next to Darcy, smiling up at Thor who stood behind her. Phil was on Loki’s other side, showing a very rare smile, with Clint behind him, his head pressed against Natasha’s and his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Sharon was the last one, standing in between Natasha and Thor, her arms on both their shoulders, her megawatt smile almost bigger than Wanda’s.

That night was a night that would always be engraved in Natasha’s memory. Bucky had-

“Nat?”

Natasha startled and turned to find Wanda on the landing, looking down at her with confusion.

“Wanda, how you feeling?” Natasha asked, going up the rest of the stairs to hug Wanda. She hugged the taller girl, pulling Wanda down a few inches so the girls forehead rested on Natasha’s shoulder.

“Oh everything is a mess. I’m assuming Loki called you?” Wanda asked mournfully, standing up to her full height, 5 inches taller than Natasha.

“Yeah, he told me what happened.” Natasha motioned for Wanda to back up so Natasha could lead them both back into the bedroom.

She sat Wanda down on the white settee that was against the end of the bed and closed the bedroom door. She leaned her back against the door and waited for Wanda to speak.

“I’m sorry you had to come over. I just started panicking about talking to Pepper - the event organizer - and for some reason I got really stuck on what type of napkins I should have?” Wanda picked up a yellow, fringe throw pillow and squeezed it to her chest. “I was fine yesterday talking about the bouquets! I even decided that I wanted Purple Heather, for Loki’s mom, and I was thinking about putting those pretty transparent stones into a bowl and have that as a centerpiece with some Marigolds and Poppies inside the bowls as well.”

Wanda stood up suddenly and did a little skip over to her vanity and pulled open the middle right drawer. She dug around a bit until she pulled out a cream white notebook that had a purple ribbon on the cover. She then grabbed a pen from a cup on top of the vanity, closed the drawer with her hip, and sat back down.

“I figured I should probably right all this down.” She said sheepishly.

“You just have to take this one step at a time.” Natasha spoke once Wanda became invested with writing in her notebook.

“You have time. I know there’s a lot to go over but you have Loki, you have me. You call us or any of the others the minute you need help. Loki’s going to be with you when you meet with Pepper, and we can slowly go over some ideas right now if you want?”

“Thanks a lot Nat.” Wanda smiled, closing the notebook. “I really would appreciate if you were there. I’ll have to talk to Loki but I think it’ll relieve him that I’m not stressing out so much. You’re my de-stressor.” Wanda giggled and Natasha couldn’t help the small smile that was forming on her face.

“Let’s go downstairs then, and we can make the call for the appointment. Just take it step by step Wanda.”

 


	4. A Kiss

** August 27, 2018 (179 days til the wedding) **

 

Tony tapped the end of his pen against the counter to the beat of Don’t Bring Me Down, which was playing from his phone. He had clients coming in 10 minutes and in all honesty he was nervous. He usually was with Pepper if he had to meet any clients, mostly because she insisted that he came on quite strong and she needed to be there to tone things done. He was fine with that, he was more comfortable with the technical aspects of the job then the party planning itself. 

“Don’t bring me down.” He sang along, looking at the large binder in front of him. The couple had called the day before to schedule an appointment with Pepper, but they’d scheduled it for the same time as the 2:00, so he’d offered to take them so Pepper could take the other client. Pepper had texted him 15 minutes before that the couple she was with was an absolute disaster - and they had to be really bad for Pepper to complain about them- so she’d probably be coming back before he was done with this couple, so if he screwed up, she could fix it.

He stopped tapping his pen and frowned. Pepper was usually fixing his messes wasn’t she ? So were Rhodey,Carol, and Sharon. He frowned harder and shook his head to get the thoughts out of his head.

He looked back at the binder and flipped through its pages, trying to find any notes Pepper had made about the couple. His curiosity was peaked when all Pepper had put in the book was the couples name, the appointment, and nothing else. His anxiety spiked a little when he realized he had nothing to go on but he pushed that aside, more curious than ever about the mystery couple.

The sound of quiet talking brought his attention out of the book and into the faces of a young, dark brunette woman and a slightly older male with long black hair. Tony closed the binder and looked up at the couple.

“We have an appointment for 2:30.” The male said, his voice sending a nice shiver down his back and wow did Tony need to focus.

“Ah of course, Mr. Loki Laufeyson and Ms. Wanda Maximoff?”

The woman nodded and Tony smiled brightly at her putting all his charm into it.

“Well, I’m Tony, if you two would just follow me.” He stood up and grabbed the binder, and walked around the counter. He turned to them to make sure they were following and he suddenly realized how tall the fiance was. Tony’s 5’8 frame only reached about the man’s ears.

_ More tall people.  _ He thought bitterly to himself, also taking in the fact that Wanda was only an inch shorter than himself.

“Actually, we have one more person coming, she’s parking the car.” Wanda spoke excitedly, and Tony recognized a hint of an accent.

“That’s fine, I’ll just lead you to a room and then I’ll wait for your...companion.” Tony didn’t really know the relationship of the third person so he figured companion was a safe bet.

They walked a few more feet down a hallway, passing different colored doors until they got to a door that was painted blue. He pushed the door open and flicked on the lights, motioning for the couple to sit at the round table in the middle of the room. Tony set the binder on the table and looked around the room til he spotted a large basket shoved into the corner. He walked over to it and heaved it onto the table.

“You can look through some magazines while we wait, and here’s some pens and paper for any ideas you get.” Tony spread the magazines from the basket onto the table and handed the paper and pens to Wanda and Loki.

“I’ll go wait out front now, can I offer you any refreshments?”

Wanda asked for a water and Tony nodded, about to leave when he asked Maximoff.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help but notice you had an accent, where are you from?”

“Sokovia.”

Tony almost couldn’t believe what he’d heard.  _ Sokovia.  _ He racked his brain for anything to say, only able to come up with a meek “I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.” Wanda softly replied, her fiance reaching over to hold her hand.

Tony left, heading to the front, feeling slightly ill. He pulled a water bottle out of a mini fridge under the counter and grabbed a laptop and his own pen and notebook so he’d be able to get them started on planning the wedding. His hands were shaking slightly and he was really hoping Pepper would turn up soon. He tried to take some deep breaths, eyes trained in front of the carpet by the door.

It’d only been a few minutes when he heard the door opening. He looked up from the carpet, taking in the knee-high, black suede boots, red dress, black blazer, and bleached blonde hair.

“Welco-.” The words died on his lips as he recognized the person in front of him.

“What the hell happened to your hair?” 

Natasha Romanoff’s face displayed no emotion, not even a hint of surprise at seeing him and that made him feel uneasy.

“I dyed it.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “No shit sherlock, but what’s with the beach blonde look,Red? Another secret mission to deceive and betray?”

Tony knew he was coming off bitter, and the past was the past, but oh god was he aching to get out of there. As long as she didn’t say-.

“I’m here for Wanda and Loki.” She pursed her lips together and shifted her weight from her center to her left foot, the only sign Tony knew that meant she was uncomfortable.

“They’re in the back.” He said gruffly, snatching  everything into his arms and not waiting for her to follow.

Good God did he wish Pepper would be there soon.

“Now that we’re all here,” Tony addressed the room after setting everything down and handing Wanda her water, “Let’s get to talking about the wedding. Wanda, can you tell me the date of your wedding?”

“February 22nd.”

“A winter wedding, how nice.” Tony smiled. “Would this be during the morning, afternoon, or night?”

“Morning, we were thinking around 10 am?” Wanda said, turning her head towards Loki to get his approval.

“Alright then, 10am it is. Now Pepper didn’t leave any notes about what you guys wanted, I’m assuming we’re going to be starting from scratch on the venue, food,music, all that?” Tony asked, noticing Wanda beginning to panic.

Natasha caught his eye with a disapproving look and how was this Tony’s fault that the couple wasn’t prepared?

“We have the flowers ready.” Wanda said weakly.

Tony nodded encouragingly, making a show of it which seemed to relax Wanda.

“That’s a good start, we’re here to help you with everything so it’s no issue if you aren't sure on most of the stuff.” Tony opened up the binder and took out a piece of paper.

“This is a contract, your standard stuff here, liabilities, fees.” Tony waited as the couple looked over the contract, his gaze kept falling on Natasha and boy did he not like that smug look she was giving him.

His phone pinged and he quickly pulled it out, glad when he saw it was Pepper that had texted him. She was 5 minutes away and oh god was that a relief.

He looked through more of his e-mails as he waited for Pepper, avoiding Natasha’s gaze. 

The sound of heels alerted him of Pepper coming towards them and he stood up from the chair with some pep in his step that he hoped the clients hadn’t noticed.

“Hello again.” Pepper said from the doorway. “I’m Pepper, I spoke with your fiance when she first came here and I made the appointment.” Pepper extended her hand and shook everyone’s hand, her eyebrows raising slightly the only sign she recognized Natasha.

“I’ll leave you with Pepper then.” Tony said heading out of the room as fast as he could.

He could hear mumblings and a small commotion but he just continued walking. He didn’t stop til he’d walked out of the shop and sat on the bench outside their place, his hands twitching anxiously for something to do.

“Tony.”

He looked up to see Natasha looking at him with an unreadable expression, but that was Natasha, the ice queen, no emotions, or real ones at least.

He began to stand up but she gently pushed him down. “Please wait.” She said, taking a seat next to him.

“I want to talk to you.” She said quietly.

“Well go ahead, impress me with your words.”

“I know the last time we met..it didn’t go as planned.”

“Yeah, because I found out that I never should have trusted you. You’re just like everyone else.” Tony snarled, balling his hands into fists as he jolted out of the bench.

“You promised me,  _ Natalie, _ you said everything I wanted to hear so you could just sneak your way into my heart and then crush it once you had the information you needed.”

“Would you just listen to me!” Natasha stood up gracefully and grabbed his hand. He tried to pull it out of her grip but she had always been stronger than him and their hands remained interlocked.

“I know that I betrayed you, I know that I hurt you in a way that I can’t begin to understand but I never truly lied to you.” Natasha’s voice had taken on a pleading tone and Tony could feel the anger draining, because he  _ knew _ Natasha, the real one almost as well as the fake one.

She stepped closer and he was hit with that wonderful smell that he could never identify and her hand squeezed his. He was vaguely aware of the front door opening and Pepper, Loki, and Wanda just standing there, watching them, but all that he cared about was Natasha.

“Give me another chance.” She whispered and suddenly she was even closer, pressed up against him, and her other arm was  wrapping around his neck to pull him closer and he was leaning down and when their lips met it was as wonderful as it had always been.

Natasha was an absolutely wonderful kisser and she was taking advantage of that skill by keeping the kiss sweet and slow and Tony finally got out of her hand hold to move his hand to her waist. The other one cupped her face and he knew he was screwed.

He could feel Pepper’s gaze on them and he broke the kiss, pulling away so their foreheads rested against each other. He cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed about their audience.

“One chance.” She whispered, leaning up to kiss him one more time. He nodded, and still in a daze, didn’t realize she’d slipped him a piece of paper. She pulled away and started heading off to where he assumed she’d parked. Loki and Wanda trailed after her, confusion clear on their face.

“Tony.” Pepper’s voice was a mix of anger, disappointment, and worry.

“I know. I know.” Tony sighed, staring off after the redhead he swore he’d never let back in his life. He really had no to self preservation did he?


	5. Her Past

** August 27, 2018 (179 days til the wedding) **

 

“You mind telling me what that was all about ?” Loki asked, his gaze trained on Natasha as she moved around the kitchen. 

Clint was sitting on the kitchen counter, an eyebrow raised. “What,what was all about?”

He reached around Natasha to grab a slice of pepper she’d just cut up. The lack of her slapping his hand away made him pause and eye the food suspiciously.

“Natasha just started making out with our wedding planner.” Loki leaned against the fridge, his arms crossed. Wanda was standing beside him, her expression concerned.

“I’m sorry what now?!” Clint exclaimed, dropping the pepper that almost reached his mouth. He looked over at Natasha his eyes widening as all she did was begin chopping the onions.

“You’re joking.” Disbelief laced his tone as he focused his attention on Loki and Wanda once he saw Natasha wasn’t answering him.

“Nope.” Loki said drawing out the word. It was clear he wasn’t happy and Natasha not saying anything wasn’t making him any happier.

Wanda silently left the room, making Natasha still, her knife halfway through an onion.

“If we lose them as our wedding planners because of you, you’d better have a back-up plan.” Loki said bitterly.

Natasha sighed and set the knife down, turning to face Loki. “I’m sorry, I really am but it’s complicated and I’d rather not get into it.” Her tone was final but Loki just frowned harder, looking at her as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.

At that moment Wanda walked in and shoved a photo towards Natasha. “Is this him?”

The picture was of a younger Natasha, with long, curled, red hair and a wide smile on her face. She was sitting on a white couch, half her body sprawled on top of a tan skinned man with brown hair and a goatee. He had an arm wrapped around her waist, and his other was holding a glass of wine. He was looking off camera, his face frozen mid-laugh.

Clint made a choking noise, drawing Loki and Wanda’s attention to him.

“Tony. You went and kissed Tony??” Clint sputtered.

Natasha took the picture out of Wanda’s hand and gently held it, looking down at it with an unreadable expression.

“It’s complicated.”

“I know it’s complicated Nat, hell, I’m part of the complicated.” Clint muttered, picking up the pepper that had fallen from his hand and onto the counter, and popping it into his mouth.

“I don’t know if you’re stupid or crazy.” He said, ignoring Natasha’s glare. “What in the world were you thinking? And he’s their wedding planner?”

Natasha’s lips twitched into a snarl before she stomped off.

The three could hear her footsteps ascending up the stairs and the slam of her bedroom door being shut.

“Do you care to explain?” Loki asked, leveling Clint with a look that almost rivaled Natasha’s.

“Alright, sit down, sit down.” He motioned for the couple to sit at the kitchen table, before hopping off the counter and taking a seat for himself.

“About 17  years ago, give or take, Natasha was a new agent and she was assigned a job by Nicholas Fury, who used to be our Boss before Coulson took over. This guy, Obadiah Stane, wanted her to get close to Tony and monitor him. She did that for a few months and some..unpleasantness happened, including Obadiah ordering Natasha to kill Tony. Tony’s father and mother died when he was 21, leaving Tony the company and acting as CEO. Obadiah shared half of the company with Howard so you can imagine how he felt when Tony was suddenly rising to a more important role in the company. Obadiah didn’t want that to happen, so he paid extra for Natasha to kill Tony.”

He paused when he saw Wanda paling. “Our business has changed since then.” Clint reassured her, scotting back in his chair so he could swing his legs up to rest on the table.

“Imagine Tony,  betrayed by a father figure and the woman he loves. It was rumored he was going to propose to her.” He scratched at his elbow and when he had nothing further to add Loki leveled him with another look.

“How long were they together?”

Clint couldn’t help but be a bit surprised by the question, seeing as it was coming from Loki and not Wanda.

“Romantically? About 4 years? Overall 5. Her mission was supposed to be for a year originally but Obadiah lengthened it and then...Natasha wanted to stay.” Clint looked a little uncomfortable and scratched at his elbow again.

“It's hard for Nat to really connect with anyone. She couldn't have killed Tony if the world depended on it and when Tony found out he immediately ended everything with her. Left Stark Industries fully and began working full time with Pepper.”

Loki nodded at that conclusion and asked one final question. “So what does this all mean?”

Clint gave him a disbelieving look. “I have no idea man, none whatsoever.”

Wanda huffed a sigh and walked out of the room, heading to where Natasha was hiding. She knocked on the door hesitantly, leaning in to hear if there was any noise on the other side.

There was a sound of shuffling and a lock being turned and the door opened slowly, revealing a disheveled Natasha, her eyes slightly puffy and her lips a little wet but that was all that gave away of her mood.

“Let’s talk.” Wanda said, gently pushing past Natasha. She’d learned a long time ago that even though Natasha didn’t like being pushed around, when she was most vulnerable she needed someone to be in control. Something about how she was used to it. Wanda hadn’t ever brought up her friends past and Natasha had never said much except from snipits about her and Clint. Once about a little tea shop in England. Wanda figured it was about time to ask.

Wanda settled herself on the bed and patted the spot next to her for Natasha to sit. The older woman did and rested her head on Wanda’s shoulder.

“I don’t know why I did that today.” Natasha began, not needing any prodding from Wanda. “I’m usually more in control of my emotions but seeing him there, it was too much.”

Wanda curled an arm comfortably around Natasha’s shoulder and pulled her closer. “Do you want to start from the beginning, finally tell me about yourself?” Wanda asked.

In the silence that followed Wanda felt that she’d overstepped her boundaries, a sixth sense telling her not to have asked anything. Natasha stiffened slightly and pulled away, her gaze determined when she looked up at Wanda.

“I have red on my ledger.” She said, her voice harsh. Her eyes had a glint in them Wanda didn’t recognize but she felt herself being drawn in anyways. The words resonated with something inside her but she couldn’t identify it. She almost verbally agreed with Natasha and hid her panic at almost doing so by giving her friend and encouraging nod.

“Nothing you say with scare me away.” She promised.

Natasha gave a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes and began her story.

**

Natasha Romanoff was born in Volgograd, Russia, right along the Volga River on June 18, 1977. She’d grown up in a small cottage with hardly any furniture and a father always in debt. Her sister and her had to help support the family, starting early with jobs. Doing the paper route, working at the market, helping with the seamstress, anything the younger girls could do they did. When Natasha was 14 and her younger sister 11, her mother had her shipped off to a boarding school that Natasha considered to be an absolute nightmare. The only way she’d gotten in was by her mother offering up Natasha like a slave. She would after classes as a cook, or a cleaner, or whatever they needed at the moment. Her classmates treated her poorly because of her status and the teacher’s all turned their backs on her. There had been a suicide attempt but her roommate had found her and offered her a way to escape. The Red Room, as her friend called it, was a ballet company that only trained the best. She got up at 4:30 every morning to practice, made sure to get as much of her homework done in between classes, and spent her free time studying and training, staying up til 1 almost every night. When Natasha was 18 a new instructor took over the dance company. Madame B was ruthless and controlling, making most of the girls drop out of their current schools to be part of the Red Room full time. Madame B hired tutors so the girls education would continue, so Natasha dropped out of the boarding school.

Natasha  wasn’t as stupid or naive as the other girls, so when Madame B started taking certain girls to a place called the Red Room, and they never came back, Natasha knew something was up. Only the top dancers went there. So Natasha trained harder and harder, and when she was invited to the Red Room at age 19, she would forever wish she’d never tried to get there in the first place. 

**

Wanda waited for Natasha to continue talking but the blonde was silent, her hands clenching the fabric of her shirt.

“Do you think the boys have continued making dinner?” Wanda asked to lighten the mood. Natasha shrugged her shoulders and stood up from the bed. She open the door and shouted “You better have dinner made when i get down there!”, before closing it and returning to her position on the bed.

“There’s a reason why I’m as skilled as I am in guns and combat, it’s going to sound straight out of a bad action movie.” Natasha continued, pulling up the sleeve of her left arm. She motioned for Wanda to lean down and get a closer look at her arm. In the crook of her arm, in faded brown ink, were the initials BW and 01. She pulled the sleeve down and shifted closer to Wanda.

“Madame B sold us to the Red Room, we became trained assassins. Day in and day out there was training in guns, balance, endurance, everything you can think of we were trained to do. I was the first of the Black Widow’s, first mission at the age of 21. I didn’t stop til 1999. I guess that’s why when I took the job from Obadiah I was already used to having to kill so it wasn’t that big a difference to me. Clint helped me show the errors of my ways, Tony - without him really knowing- shaped me to be a better human.”

Wanda nodded her head, taking in the information her friend had shared with her. To be honest it really was a lot to take in. Learning her best friend was an ex-assassin wasn’t the most thrilling news to hear and Wanda hated herself for a split second that she felt fear but she focused on who Natasha was now.

“Thank you for telling me.” Wanda said, putting together this new information with the information she already had from before.

Natasha gave her a look she couldn’t decipher before smiling super wide and giving her friend a hug.

 

“I should be thanking you.” Natasha whispered into Wanda’s ear, tightening her grip around Wanda’s waist. 


	6. A Simple Text

**August 29, 2018 (177 days til the wedding)**

 

Tony stared blankly at the coffee before him, waiting for it to cool down enough so it didn't burn his throat. Normally he'd be too impatient but his thoughts were spinning and he'd actually gotten enough hours of sleep to make him not dependent on the coffee at the moment. 2 days ago Natasha had kissed him. A woman he'd wished never to see again had shown up at his job and in less than 10 minutes he was under her spell again. To put it in Pepper's terms, he was "utterly whipped."

Once the trio had left, Pepper had gone into a frenzy, yelling at him and gesturing her arms so wildly that he feared her arms would fly off. 

"What in the hell were you thinking?" She'd screamed, her hands twitching on her hips, no doubt the urge to not strangle him was caused by years and years of his stupidity. Because that's what this was, stupid.

"In my defense-", He started off, hesitating when he saw Pepper's eyebrows draw down even further,"she kissed me." He finished weakly. 

She'd stared at him for a few moments in disbelief. Then she was winding up again, this time Natasha was her target.

"That sneaky little spider, how dare she." Pepper stomped her foot in emphasis and in Tony's head there'd been an image of a child throwing a tantrum, not that he'd ever share that information with her.

"She doesn't know how hard it was for you, on everyone to see you so utterly alone and vulnerable. She stripped you down to your core and you're just going to let her waltz back in?!"

Tony winced, scratching the back of his neck in discomfort. "It's been 12 years."

"I don't care if this happened in a past life!" Pepper had shouted, her fist slamming down on the counter.

"It's my decision Pepper. I didn't say I was going to forgive her." He was starting to get mad now, he could hear his voice changing to the cold and cryptic tone he used with snooty politicians and those who crossed his path with ill intent. The voice he used when he was being pushed too far.

Pepper seemed to realize this and fumed silently before reaching behind the counter for her purse and storming out of the building. She'd texted a while later that she just needed to cool off and then they could talk about this like rational adults.

He'd scoffed at that and had gone straight to bed, wishing he could drink away his sorrows and regretting his decision to become sober. All because of Natasha, it began and ended with her.

Now here he was two days later looking at his cup of coffee and contemplating what the fuck he was supposed to do. He still had Natasha's number folded in the pocket of the pants he'd worn on Monday. 

Pepper and he had indeed talked to each other yesterday, though it had ended up in another shouting match. They both needed to cool down and while this wasn't their first huge fight, it was still a weight on Tony's heart.

He finally took a sip of coffee and relished in the warm liquid going down his throat. He cradled the cup closer to him, as if it was a security blanket, and let the cup warm up his hands. He'd always had bad circulation. Many of his lovers had been displeased when his feet had touched their legs. Natasha had been different, insisting that he place them on her legs and she would curl her hands around his. She would always say that she was always so hot and that Tony's cold hands and feet balanced her out.

This was unhealthy and he knew it. The betrayal was still fresh in his chest, a feeling like he'd never had the closure about what had happened was always in the back of his mind. It was brought up on really cold nights, and moments when he was unaware. 

The first few months were the worst. Everything reminded him of her. He'd look at a plate of unwashed dishes and remember how adamant she was about them being cleaned right away. 

He first put the coffee cup back on the nightstand, then pulled his phone out and clicked the "add new contact" before he became too chicken. He reached for the pair of pants that were on the ground at his feet and pulled out the number, plugging it in and then just staring at the screen. A weird feeling came upon him as he looked at the curser where the name was. Was it weird to put Nat? Was it to formal to put Natasha? He finally decided on Natka. His fingers were typing the word before he had really put much though into it and then he was staring at the phone the way he'd been staring at the coffee.

 _Natka_ had been the nickname that had surprised Natasha. 

_Natka was the name he'd given her when they'd been transitioning from assistant and boss to friends. He was quick with nicknames, though they weren't always the right ones on the first try. He'd cycled through his head various names for her. Nat; common, everyone called her that. Natalie; too formal. Red; her reaction would probably be the same as Pepper's. And then one day he'd cornered her in the break room and asked her to tell him a story. She'd raised an eyebrow and cocked her hip against the fridge._

" _Alright I'll tell you a story." Her eyes drawing him in, even then he'd been a goner for her without even realizing it._

_"There was once a little girl who's best friend was a big St. Bernard. It was funny to watch the pair walking down the street, this huge beast trailing behind the tiniest of girls. Everywhere she went, the dog was close by, it seemed as if they would never part. One day at the market there was a bigger crowd than usual and the girl lose the hold on the leash and the dog was gone. She and her parents looked everywhere for it but it was nowhere to be found."_

_Tony had leaned in closer, letting her perfume invade his senses._

_"The girl cried and cried and didn't eat or sleep for days. It was loosing a part of her soul. She was had bothered everyone in her neighborhood to look for the dog. even the farthest town from her was looking for the big St.Bernard. One day a boy came into town and he said that he'd found her dog but he would only give it back to her on one condition._

_"That's not very nice." Tony had said._

_Natasha- Natalie- had laughed with her head thrown back and motioned for him to let her continue. "The boy said "позволь мне поиграть с ним." The girl agreed for the boy was a lonely orphan and the dog had been his only friend. So the young girl shared her dog with him and they all became quick friends. The end._

Back then he should have realized. Nowhere on her profile had it said she' known Russian. The words she'd spoken were too smooth, too fluent, the accent thick and  _real_ when she said those words. But he'd been lost in her and the story. 

 _"That's quite a story." He'd said before an idea hit him. "Thank you for it Natka."_ His second clue should have been her reaction. She looked guilty, almost afraid, as if she'd been caught. He'd laughed and explained that Natka was a nickname for Natasha, and Natasha and Natalie were basically the same thing and he needed a nickname for her. She'd laughed a beat to late and then they'd continued on as normal.

And Natasha and Natalie truly were one in the same it had turned out.

He cleared his throat and opened a new message, his fingers flying across the keyboard. 

 

 **ME:** **I'm probably very stupid for deciding to give you a chance. Meet me at the Paradise cafe at 5pm Friday - sent 8:34 am**

 

He placed his phone down on the nightstand and resumed drinking his coffee. His mind a mess more than usual now that he'd sent the text. He finished the coffee and headed out of the bedroom with it, nearly stubbing his toe on the door. He was just starting his second cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. He looked down at the navy blue sweatshirt and his yellow boxers with seals on them and sighed. It was too early in the morning to give a crap anyway, so he headed over to the front door and looked through the peephole while he unlocked and unbolted his door.

The cheery grin that filled the peephole made him wish he'd started on his 3rd cup of coffee.

"Good morning." Sharon said walking into the apartment with a bounce in her step. "I brought sesame bagels and strawberry cream cheese." She held up a brown bag and waved it in front of Tony like it was a treat for a dog. He glared and shut the door. 

She walked over to the kitchen island where the second cup of coffee was and set the bag down before taking a sip from his mug. Her mouth twisted downwards at the bitter taste and she turned around to spit into the sink.

He glared at her harder, now that some of his coffee had gone to waste.

"You do that every time like you expect it to taste different." Tony grumbled. Sharon shrugged and began rummaging in the cupboards for another cup.

"I'm always hoping your tastebuds will start working like a normal human beings and your coffee won't be shit." 

Tony placed a hand over his heart and made a pained noise. "You heathen. How dare you insult my coffee." 

Sharon giggled and poured some coffee into a green mug she'd found. She opened the bagel bag and pulled out 3 creamers and dumped them into her coffee, drinking it straight away with a satisfied sigh.

"What's got you in such a perky mood?" Tony asked, sitting down on the stool at the islands and digging into the bag to pull out a bagel, knife, and container of cream cheese.

"Oh nothing." Sharon said, getting a slightly dreamy look on her face.

Tony paused his spreading of the cream cheese on his bagel and squinted at her suspiciously. "Don't tell me", his voice dry, "You and Superman got back together."

Sharon's face erupted into a blush and she reached across the counter to punch him. "Shut up, don't call him that."

"Sorry, _Steve's_ back in the picture?" He emphasized the name and resumed his task of spreading. "When was the last time you two were even a thing?"

"November  2015, before he moved to Washington D.C."

Tony nodded, taking a bite of his bagel. "What brings wonder boy back here?" He asked around the mouthful. Sharon gave him a look and shrugged. "His job brought him back, and someone he knows is getting married so he wanted to stick around til then instead of leaving after the job and coming back for the wedding." She took a long sip from her mug and smiled even bigger. "He and I met up last night, it was just like old times." She got a fond smile on her face and went to drink some more coffee.

Tony had never understood the two of them. One moment they were as close as could be, basically twins, and then something set them off and they were done with each other. The longest they had stayed together was back in 2009 when they had first met through a mutual work friend of Sharon's and they'd managed to make the relationship last 3 years.  

It had been one of the few times Sharon had talked about her work around Tony. He had never approved of the path she'd gone, especially because she'd been shot before, so to keep things from turning into an argument they avoided the subject.

Tony also wasn't particularly fond of Steve. He figured that if he and Steve were dating that it'd be much like Sharon's situation. They'd push each other away and pull each other back in. Except with a lot more fighting because when he and Steve weren't buddy buddy then they were like oil and water.

"I guess congratulations on getting back with him? and thank you for the bagels." Saying the last part more sincerely, he stood up and went to throw the bag away when Sharon stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"Actually, we're not getting back together." The expression of happiness hadn't left her face so he was confused.

"We decided it's best to not rush back into things, which means Steve's really taking this seriously."

Tony sighed and gave his cousin a squeeze on the shoulder. She was overly hopeful in people, always taking the optimistic side. Tony didn't have the heart to tell her it was most likely because Steve had someone else or wasn't interested in Sharon at the moment.

He threw the bag out and knife before taking his last sip of coffee.

When he turned back to Sharon she had a thoughtful expression on her face. "There was another reason I came here." She motioned for him to sit back down and he did so.

"Pepper called me."

Tony slumped forward on the island and Sharon gave him a pitying smile. 

Another reason why they didn't bring up Sharon's work, Natasha was her co-worker.

"Here to give me a lecture as well?"

Sharon frowned and shook her head. "Pepper is very protective of you, but she also didn't know Natasha as well as you or I did. I had to work with, I was swept in with her lies. With Fury's lies." She pursed her lips and tugged at the gold chain that had been around her neck since high school, a sign that she was anxious. Her mother had given it to her a week before she'd died. 

"We've talked about this before, and I feel like this conversation is going to keep coming up but I figured I should offer my side of things as well, to help you decide if you should contact Natasha."

Tony nodded her on, thinking about the fact that he'd already sent the text.

"Fury told me that Natasha had taken the job because she needed to work more on her social skills. We all knew at the time that she had a dark and troubled past, and Fury had never led us astray before so we accepted Natasha taking on the role of Natalie Rushman and becoming your assistant. It didn't help you became smitten with her almost immediately and I still regret prioritizing Fury's orders of not telling anyone who Natalie really was."

She reached across the island and interlaced her fingers with Tony's. "I'm still so sorry. I couldn't look her in the eye for what seemed like an eternity. I still can't on really bad days." She gave a gentle squeeze before taking back her hand. "While a part of me hates her, another part knows about how broken she was after everything."

Sharon stood up and put her cup in the sink, and with her back still turned she continued. "Personally I believe everyone deserves a second chance, or at least be allowed to explain their side of things. For closures sake."

There was that word again. _Closure_.

She turned to face Tony and smiled. "Let's forget about that for now, let's go out, I know you don't have any appointments today- I checked with Pepper- so why don't we go down to the beach? I have all my stuff in the car already."

Tony nodded enthusiastically. "Lemme just get my things." He said as she started heading for the door. She gave him a thumbs up and headed out. He rushed to put his towels, sunscreen, and snacks into a duffle bag. He changed into a pair of green swim trunks and a white button up and slipped his feet into a pair of sandals. He placed his sunglasses on his head just before he grabbed his phone and noticed he had a new text notification.

 

 **NATKA:** **Thank you, you don't know how much this means to me. See you soon. - Sent 8:44am**

 

He could hear his pulse in his ears for a moment as he kept rereading the message. He swallowed with some difficulty and pocketed his phone, wondering what the hell he had just done. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used google translate for the Russian so my apologies if it isn't right.  
> Also I feel like Tony is really OOC in this chapter? And Sharon too though I don't really know her that well but I felt it went well so idk.


End file.
